Great news, readers: despite reports that the cupboard has gone bare
and we simply lack the money to ensure a sound education, good jobs, a
robust infrastructure, and a solid safety net for this generation and
those to come, it turns out the money has been right here all along.
Hidden behind that big jar marked "Pentagon" and the supersized box
of corporate tax breaks, we have all the resources we need to thrive as a
nation — if we all pay our fair share and make sound choices that bring
us real security in our homes and communities.
For years the idea has been cultivated that federal spending on
everything but the military has been out of control, and we are coming
down to our last crumbs of federal resources. Some of those pushing this
narrative have insisted we must slash all but the military budget if we
are to avoid dire collapse in our economic system.
Most recently, a number of groups have been pushing for a so-called
“grand bargain” that would trade some concessions on taxes for
fundamental changes that would cut Social Security, Medicare, and
Medicaid, and other programs that fund community needs while exempting
the Pentagon’s bloated budget from the conversation. There’s something
very fishy in this narrative.
Like a hard sell from a used car dealership, the numbers on this high
pressure sales job just don’t add up. Don’t be fooled: the consequences
of such a “grand bargain” are far worse than those of sequestration.
To be clear, there would be no “fiscal cliff” if some in Congress had
not sought to force cuts to non-military discretionary programs through
a series of manufactured crises over the past two years. Rather than
pursuing sensible, reality-based budgeting by allowing misguided tax
cuts for the wealthiest to expire and reversing the massive increases in
military spending that largely fueled the current federal debt, those
calling for cuts have focused on the parts of the budget that have grown
least.
It makes no sense for Congress to spend over half of the dollars it
has discretion to allocate on a military budget that has already doubled
since 1998 — without even counting the $1.38 trillion in additional
funds allocated to wage wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — even as millions
of families struggle to find work, and to feed and house their families.
Pentagon contractors have raised an anguished outcry over potential
impacts of the “sequester” on the military budget — yet these
"dangerous" cuts of roughly 10 percent over 9 years would only return
military spending levels to the dark ages of 2007, a time when the U.S.
was waging two wars and military spending levels far outpaced those of
the Cold War. And what about all those jobs at risk? Many of the
military contractors most vocal about the likelihood of massive job cuts
if military budgets are cut have actually cut more jobs in recent boom
years than in lean ones. A battery of studies have shown that military
spending is a particularly poor job creator, and most other areas of
federal spending create much higher levels of employment.
Our current levels of military spending far exceed rational bounds.
The U.S. accounts for roughly half — more than $700 billion — of all
global military spending — and many of the other big spenders are our
allies. We’re like a family hoarding a massive personal arsenal of
weapons completely extraneous to any real threats we face – and when
hard times come, we decide to spend less on food, medicine, heat, and
home repairs so we can fill our neglected pantry with rocket launchers
and grenades.
Instead, let’s make a choice to thrive once more, by moving our money
to health care, clean energy or education, where any spending will
support twice as many jobs and more fundamental security for our
families and communities. One of the most effective ways to spend public
dollars is on services to those who need them, like meals for children
in poverty, cancer screenings, and unemployment stipends. Both our
physical infrastructure — roads, bridges, buses, trains — and our
communal infrastructure — hospitals, libraries, schools — deserve more
funding, not just to keep them safe and functioning, but also to connect
workers to jobs and neighbors to neighbors.
It’s also time to act on the other side of the federal budget
equation — raising revenues from those who’ve benefited the most from
unfairness in our tax code. If all corporations just paid the 35 percent
federal tax they are supposed to, we’d have an extra $219 billion in
the public treasury annually to cover the cost of fixing roads, hiring
teachers, and helping families heat their homes.
Readers, we’re not broke. We remain a nation of abundance and
opportunity if we make smart budgeting decisions. Real security for this
nation comes in the form of jobs, schools, housing, and healthcare –
not outdated weapons and extras the Pentagon hasn’t even asked for. The
Obama Administration and Congress must get to work filling our pantry
with the things we truly need to ensure a better future for all.
Arnie Alpert is the New Hampshire program coordinator and Robin
Aura Kanegis is the director of the Office of Public Policy for the
American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker peace and social justice
organization with programs in 35 cities and 14 countries.
